New York City Serenade
New York City Serenade Episode Number: Season 3, Episode 12 Directed By: Billy Gierhart Air Date: March 9, 2014 Previous Episode: Going Home Next Episode Witch Hunt "New York City Serenade" is the twelfth episode of Season 3 of the American fairytale/drama series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 56th episode overall. The episode marks the mid-season premiere of the show, following the executive producers' decision to split the season into two volumes. It aired on March 9, 2014, with a special entitled "Wicked is Coming" preceding the premiere. The episode also marks the first appearance of Rebecca Mader as Zelena, The Wicked Witch of the West, who is the primary antagonist for the second half of the season. In this episode, after the fairy tale characters return to the Enchanted Forest, they discover something has changed that now places their lives in danger, resulting in Hook's escaping to the real world in an effort to restore Emma Swan's memories so she can save them. Most commentators commented positively on the episode, especially due to the unpredictable nature of the new storylines created by the writers and producers. Upon airing, the episode was watched by 7.66 million viewers, attaining an 18-49 rating of 2.4. This presents a significant rise from the previous episode. Furthermore, the episode achieved its highest weekly viewership rank for the series since the second episode of Season 2 in October 2012. Plot 'Opening Sequence' New York City's skyline appears in the background. 'In the Enchanted Forest' Storybrooke characters arrive back in the Enchanted Forest due to the curse and are met by Prince Phillip and a pregnant Princess Aurora. After catching up, Snow, Charming, and Regina decide to make for Regina's castle since she protected it prior to the curse. Aurora and Phillip argue about telling "her" about the returned Storybrooke characters. Shortly after leaving Aurora and Phillip, Hook states he has always been a pirate and leaves the group. During the march to Regina's castle, Grumpy points out that the Queen is missing, and Snow finds her burying something in the forest. Regina is burying her heart due to the pain of never seeing Henry again, and the fact that he doesn't remember her. Snow convinces her that Regina can have happiness and that she deserves to find it for Henry, which leads to Regina putting the heart back in her chest. Snow and Regina are then accosted by a flying monkey, but saved by Robin Hood. While walking to the castle, Belle and Neal talk about finding a way to bring Rumplestiltskin back, and are reunited with Robin Hood. As the characters reach the castle, Regina realizes someone else has dispelled her protective barrier and put up their own. Robin Hood offers them shelter in Sherwood Forest until they can figure out their next move. A flying monkey returns to the castle with the blood of Regina from his attack and upon the insistence of a green skinned woman she adds it to a potion as she says she'll get her revenge. She also states that while the Queen may be evil, she is wicked, and wicked always win, revealing herself as the Wicked Witch of the West. 'In and Outside Storybrooke' Emma Swan, in her new life with Henry in New York City, goes on a date with her new boyfriend Walsh when she is interrupted by Hook who is imploring her to remember herself and that her family needs to be saved. Emma angrily rebuffs him despite using her gift to prove he isn't lying. Hook passes her a note stating that it's an address where she will find her answers. After Hook leaves Walsh proposes to Emma who says she needs time to think. Emma hands Henry a permission slip for a field trip the next morning and finds the note that Hook gave her which is the address for Neal's apartment in the city. She goes to the apartment and finds nothing of interest until she finds a camera with the name "HENRY" on it. Emma meets with Hook in Central Park who again tries to convince her by producing a memory potion. Again, Emma doesn't believe him and handcuffs Hook to a bike rack and tells passing by NYPD officers that Hook assaulted her. Emma is walking Henry home discussing her feelings of adding a third person to her and Henry's small family of which Henry is in favor. After dropping him off, Emma looks at photos developed from Henry's Camera showing Storybrooke and their flight. She bails Hook out of jail and after talking to him drinks the memory potion which restores her memory. Hook and Emma are having a drink so he can tell Emma about the events of the past year. Walsh arrives (as Henry set up a dinner between Emma and him) and Emma decides to tell him that she can't marry him. Walsh tells Emma that he wishes that she hadn't drank the potion which perplexed Emma. Walsh reveals himself to be a flying monkey in disguise forcing Emma to beat him off with a pipe. The next morning, Emma tells Henry that she needs his help with a case. Henry is overjoyed at the prospect of no school and helping his mother. Hook arrives to help Henry pack Emma's yellow bug as she puts on her red leather jacket. At night the trio arrive in Storybrooke with Henry asleep in the car. Emma searches out Snow and Charming and shares an emotional reunion with them as all three remember each other. Snow is visibly pregnant and they tell Emma that they are trapped in Storybrooke again and do not remember the past year. Emma asks who could have done such a thing. Cast Starring *Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary Margaret Blanchard *Jennifer Morrison as Emma Swan *Lana Parrilla as The Evil Queen/Regina Mills *Josh Dallas as Prince Charming/David Nolan/Prince James *Emilie de Ravin as Belle *Colin O'Donoghue as Hook *Michael Raymond-James as Baelfire/Neal Cassidy *Jared S. Gilmore as Henry Mills *Robert Carlyle as Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold Guest Starring *Rebecca Mader as The Wicked Witch/Zelena *Sean Maguire as Robin Hood *Rose McIver as Tinkerbell *Beverley Elliot as Granny *Meghan Ory as Red Riding Hood/Ruby *Lee Arenberg as Grumpy/Leroy *Keegan Connor Tracy as The Blue Fairy/Mother Superior *Julian Morris as Prince Phillip *Sarah Bolger as Aurora *Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper *Christopher Gorham as Wizard of Oz/Walsh *Jason Burkart as Little John *Michael P. Northey as Friar Tuck *Gabe Khouth as Sneezy/Tom Clark *Faustino di Bauda as Sleepy/Walter *Michael Coleman as Happy *David Paul Grove as Doc *Mig Macario as Bashful *Jeffrey Kaiser as Dopey Trivia Production Notes= *The title card features the New York City skyline. *The title of this episode was announced by Adam Horowitz via his Twitter account on November 14, 2013. *The episode is named after a song by Bruce Springsteen, from the 1973 album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle. Adam Horowitz is a fan of the singer. *When the residents of Storybrooke reappear in the Enchanted Forest, there are some notable changes. The Blue Fairy and Tinkerbell are nowhere to be seen, but it is possible they are in the second group of fifty inhabitants, who landed in the Enchanted Forest two miles away, as mentioned by Jiminy Cricket to Grumpy. Red Riding Hood is also added to the group despite not being with them originally. *Emma and Walsh have dinner at a restaurant called Ostria. *Walsh has a scar on the left side of his neck. The flying monkey that attacks Regina and Snow White is hit by an arrow in exactly the same spot. *Henry reaches level twenty-three while playing a video game. This is a nod to the official Disney fan club D23. *When Prince Charming asks Robin Hood if they are armed with weapons, he responds by saying, "We're lousy with them." *The commonly used meaning for "lousy" is "of poor quality", but in this case, Robin Hood is using a different definition of the word, which means "amply supplied." *A hug between Emma and Hook, after she bails him out of jail in New York, was cut from the episode. According to Adam Horowitz, the hug was not scripted. *The city view from the top of Emma's apartment building is the same as the view seen from the top of Neal's apartment building in "An Untold Story", indicating that the two buildings are located in the same neighborhood. *Ginnifer Goodwin's real-life pregnancy was written into the show's storyline, although Mary Margaret's pregnancy had already been planned for a long time. According to Ginnifer, the series creators knew that she and Josh Dallas wanted to start a family, and everyone was hoping that the timing would overlap. The writers had given themselves some wiggle room, "so once we became pregnant in real life, they could say, "All right, here we go."" *This is the second episode that ended with a flashback, the first being "The Doctor". |-|Goofs= *The residents of Storybrooke are returned to their original, pre-curse clothes when they reappear in the Enchanted Forest. However, there are some inconsistencies. Snow White is wearing a cloak over her night gown. This was to hide Ginnifer Goodwin's real-life pregnancy on-screen. Belle is wearing her signature yellow dress instead of prison attire from her time imprisoned by The Evil Queen. Neal is given Enchanted Forest attire despite the fact that he was never cursed nor was he wearing such attire when the curse hit. Hook's vest changes from black leather to his pre-curse red vest despite the fact that he was never cursed. *When Emma drops Henry off at their apartment, she tells him to beat level 24 on Diablo III, but he is only on level 23. *Belle manages to recognize Robin Hood despite meeting him later under a glamoured appearance. *The Wicked Witch of the West's protection spell surrounding the Dark Palace changes in size. When the spell is first discovered by The Evil Queen, it's located by scorch marks on the surrounding ground and shrubbery. However, when the spell is lowered in "Witch Hunt", it is located significantly closer to the palace with the scorched trees appearing in the foreground. |-|Other Notes= FILMING LOCATIONS *The streets of New York City were filmed in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, where production for Once Upon a Time is based. The Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar on Homer Street, Yaletown, Downtown Vancouver, doubles as the Ostria, the restaurant where Walsh proposes to Emma. When Emma leaves the restaurant, The New Oxford pub on Yale Street is reflected in a car mirror. Stanley Park doubles as New York's Central Park for the scene where Hook is arrested.